What do you miss?

[Carmilla]

As I prepare to be a full timer in the next couple of years, I look around my loft, and decide what stays and what goes. I have far less stuff than many of the people I know- but still, it doesn't all go in the airstream. Dogs stay, piano goes. I was just wonderign from those of you that have made the leap- what could you not take that was really hard to leave? I am a cook (not chef- I don't make reductions and flavored foam, thank you) and I'm thinking all of my favorite cook books will have to find another home. That's a lot of weight! And yet, I seem to have more trouble with teh thought of letting them go than the piano.
What were some of the things y'all all had to let go? Did you regret it?

[2airishuman]

every rv owner who considers FT thinks about this issue.

maintain 2 huts, storage, toss the balast...

materialize, miniaturize, prioritize, digitize, vaporize ... then

actualize and realize.
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lots of dull threads with lots of notions.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...ule-49918.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...mes-45973.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...ing-72934.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...day-58356.html

and 3 of humorous but enlightening, tangential tracks...

(( unfortunately since the TITLES no longer appear in links, ya gotta LOOK at 'em to see the themeZ ))

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...ams-18366.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...-me-41624.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f368...eed-31784.html

after reading a few, some common patterns emerge as do some KEY terms.

so then search a bit using those relevant words and more threads on this will appear.
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there are many books available on doin' the rv thing, some with useful bits on this topic.

and lots of rv balooooongerz have shared their approach to this out in cyberspace.
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1 thing 4 sure, carrying the entire airforum payload along takes little space.

cheers
2air'

[DanielB]

I'm preparing as well. I've gotten rid of a bunch of stuff. The thing that I miss most is the washing machine.
Do not miss the refrigerator. Biggest waste of energy on the planet IMHO.

[noreen&sal]

The first thing I would toss is the cookbooks. Any recipe in the world is available on line. I love to cook, but I still go on line to get new ideas. Sal.

[Journalist]

Get yourself an iPod touch or an iPhone. There are a whole ton of good cookbook apps available that will negate the need for a big pile of books. I have about three on my iPhone that I use all the time. The AirForums app is a nice little addition too!
The one thing I really missed while the wife and I were fulltiming for a while was the extra space when the weather was bad outside. Those round Airstream walls really start to close in on you when you can't go outside for two or three days during a rain storm.

[Carmilla]

I hear the AirForums app is really good. I can't imagine going anywhere without you people! I'm totally dependant- and I haven't even finished the reno yet!

[Melody Ranch]

I am not a full timer....but, I miss having paintings and other art around. I try....

This could be a good separate thread now that I think of it.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Carmilla

I hear the AirForums app is really good...

not really, at least 4 me.

but mobile connectivity using wifi or broadband means there is no need to use the tiny apps.

cheers
2air'

[Journalist]

Originally Posted by Carmilla

I hear the AirForums app is really good. I can't imagine going anywhere without you people! I'm totally dependant- and I haven't even finished the reno yet!

I like it. It has its issues, but it's a whole lot better than using the web browser on my tiny iPhone screen used to be. I see it as a nice supplement to the regular site when I'm away from my PC. I actually find it easier to post pics of my travels directly from the iPhone app rather than waiting to and going through all the hassle of dumping my camera to the computer after I get home.

[AIR-Quarius]

I am always managing to throw this large oversized folding wood top table onto the truck. Got to have a table out side!!
I don't miss anyhthing, just being aware of small appliances that get results in order to make the genre of full timing work smoothly. But you gots to have dat table outside.

[overlander63]

You can lose your entire library, including the cook books, by getting a Kindle (or other ebook reader), and download everything (from novels to DIY books to cook books) onto it.
If you have a scanner, you can scan pages from your favorite cook books into a computer, then put that onto either a CD or an SD card. Come to think about it, a laptop is a big saving in room over a desktop 'puter as well. (15"-16" screen size is standard, and a good size for viewing files/movies/web pages).
As for other things, we went with a two-color wardrobe to cut down on space. Everything could be worn with everything else.

[KerriO]

We'll be beginning our full-timing adventures in a few months. I expect to miss the dishwasher the most. That an my perfectly arranged home-office with perfectly ergonomic Herman Miller Chair. But I also expect to be very surprised by what I miss and don't miss.

Oh, and having private alone time— an accordion door as separation just isn't going to be the same.

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

I am not a full timer....but, I miss having paintings and other art around. I try....

This could be a good separate thread now that I think of it.

My plan is to find a few lovely hand-printed Letterpress Cards to mount and frame.


ETA: I actually prefer the mobile Airforums app to the the full site, so that makes that easy! (It seems to have a hard time constantly loading images from the albums, however.)

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by KerriO

My plan is to find a few lovely hand-printed Letterpress Cards to mount and frame.

We used a digital photo frame with all our favorites loaded onto it. I had it set to change daily.

[DougZ]

If I had to head out tomorrow, dogs stay, everything else is negotiable. I would like to take my fishing poles and some Bud Lite.

[Carmilla]

I wonder what people did before the digital age?

Last might my sister was laughing at me as she imagined me putting on a separate tow hitch and trailer behind the airstream for my kitchen aid mixer!

[Journalist]

Originally Posted by Carmilla

I wonder what people did before the digital age?

Took up a lot of space mostly. I cant help but be amazed at the giant pile of stuff that my tiny iPhone replaces. A stationery set, a giant wired telephone, a typewriter, a few hundred vinyl albums with record player, a scientific calculator, a level, a deck of cards, an alarm clock, an appointment book, a whole library worth of books, a camera, a stack of photo albums, a truck load of maps, a stack of video tapes, a VCR, and a small television. That just barely scratches the surface of what it's really capable of, including replacing gadgets that we didn't even know we needed until the digital age came along.

[DreamStreamr]

My two cents worth on some of these issues. We're in our fourth year full-timing and we love it every bit. We don't miss our dishwasher, we miss our clothes washer a little, I miss books and tools, and space for friends. We don't miss maintenance, insurance, taxes, junk mail, and repairs on the house and cars.

I miss a lot of my books. No, I can't download those I collected in the sixties and seventies. Some few of them maybe are out there but more aren't. They were good friends, especially in winter time sitting by the fire with an oil lamp, turning the pages slowly. I don't get any of the charm reading books on our iPad. Yes, it can comprise hundreds of books. But it is cold and without charm. Give me a real book anytime.

We do really well with our means of privacy. Whenever Debbie wants more space, she sends me outside. Doesn't happen often, in fact hardly ever. But the strategy is available. We're chasing 75 degrees and both love out-of-doors so going outside isn't much of a hardship.

I miss some of my tools sometimes, and suffer occasional seller's remorse. Yet we decided we couldn't keep it all and some of the tools were really bulky.

I don't miss the attics full of junk, (and some really neat stuff, too) one over the house and one over the garage. Both full, and most of it went to charity. Sold a little of it. Saved a little and saved some books and a few items of clothing and put them in a 250 cubic feet storage locker (5' wide X 7' long X 7' high).

Most I miss the space to dance or entertain in our house. Yeah, we can invite six in for drinks, but then they try to sit down and two have to face one way and four face the other way. Just doesn't play well. One percent of the time, we could use a little more space. Maybe not, eh? We'll just play in your house sometime.